When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests were unable to enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD: "For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever."
Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.
Significance
The Chronicler records that fire came down from heaven (esh yaredah min-hashamayim) and consumed the burnt offering, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple (2 Chr 7:1-3)—a dramatic theophanic response absent from 1 Kings 8:54, which simply notes Solomon rising from prayer. This fire-from-heaven motif connects to earlier divine acceptance scenes (Lev 9:24, 1 Kgs 18:38 at Carmel) and signals God's ratification of the temple as His chosen dwelling. The Chronicler adds this theophanic detail to demonstrate unambiguously that God accepted Solomon's temple and prayer, a vital assurance for the post-exilic community rebuilding their own temple.
